I follow Tristan out the door, but Monica’s on my heels. “Let me help.”
“Not likely,” I toss over a shoulder. “Stay here until I come back, and we can finish this conversation before you’re on your way back to Alessandro.”
Monica scowls, and I sense her annoyance – sense? Again with these weird feelings. Next time I see Ileana, I’m going to strangle the immortal. Repercussions or not.
Our swift departure leaves Monica behind with Lucrezia. With a bit of luck, she’ll be gone by the time we finish, and I won’t have to worry about lack of control.
As we jump in my pickup, Tristan dials Finn and tells him to haul ass to the shop with Elle in case anything happens. That handled, we can focus on what’s going on.
“They found all the Reaper hideouts, and weren’t seen,” Tristan briefs me. “But the last one, some scout was still awake. Raised the alarm, and a fight broke out.”
My foot presses harder on the gas, wanting to get there faster. “Are they alright?”
“Dani and Dom, yeah. He has a few injured wolves, though.”
I nod, and after ten minutes of quiet we finally arrive. I jump out of the car and head over. The land is deserted, with some kind of large industrial building in the distance. In the middle of the field, I can see ten or so Reaper bodies littering the ground. The stench of the vrykolakas also hits me hard, and I hold back a gag.
Dominic and Daniela are over on the side, crouched over one such wolf. Daniela’s hands are glowing fire, as though she’s trying to heal the creature, but then her shoulders slouch in defeat.
When he looks up at me, Dominic’s expression is grim. “I’m sorry,” I tell him. “Losing one of your own is not what I intended.”
He shakes his head and stands, walking over to me. “Isn’t it?” He glances around at the other vrykolakas. He has eight with him plus the one on the ground. Half of the others look like they’re injured, too.
Dominic runs a hand over his face, exhaustion emanating from his ever pore. I head closer to Daniela, crouching low. The vrykolakas’ yellow eyes meet mine.
These creatures are not like me. Half-strigoi, half-wolf, they’re hybrid of the most unnatural kind – soulless. Yet Dominic sees something worth saving in them, and they listen to him. Time and time again, they’ve helped out with various battles, and I cannot deny the respect they have earned.
So when I reach a hand out, it’s to silently tell the wolf about to cross over into the Underworld that I understand. I can read his pain, his ultimate demise. And it’s alright, amico. You will be fine.
Before I can say any of that, something happens inside me. My wolf goes utterly quiet. Everything else fades into the background. And as I place my hands on his fur, a vibrating jolt runs from me, to him. The vrykolakas opens his eyes wide, and goes into a seizure.
I rip my hands from him with effort – they’d been stuck as though with a magnet – and scramble to get off the ground.
“What the fuck just happened?” Tristan asks as he helps Daniela up. Their eyes are wide on me, filled with concern.
“Non lo so – I don’t know. Why are you looking at me like I’ve grown two heads?”
“Your hands,” Dominic says as he inches closer. “Look down.”
Thick, russet fur envelops my forearms. Out of all of us, Daniela alone can shift a particular part of her body, but I’ve never been able to. Now I’m in human from, yet my hands are furry with massive claws protruding from them.
“And your eyes,” he adds. “They’re red, Lucas.”
That part, I cannot confirm. But I do feel that vibration in my body, the shake of it all. Something is happening. And whatever it is, it’s not good.
Lordul morţii.
The voice echoes in my head, and I look at the vrykolakas that had been dying. He’s now standing, his head bowed as if in submission to his alpha – Dominic – as well as myself.
“What does that mean?” I ask my beta.
Dominic glances between us, his expression wary. “It means lord of death.”
No... I take another step backwards, and another. Daniela says something, then Tristan, but I can’t make it out. Everything is tuned out except my fast heartbeat, and the pulse in my ears. I was right, then. It’s happening, and sooner than I thought.
Refusing to look at my pack, I turn around and run. My wolf takes over, I let it morph, and try to forget everything. Woods pass by, and roads, as I run for I don’t know how long until the moon is high in the sky.
And when I’m done running, I find myself outside the inn where Monica is. I didn’t want to end up here, but my wolf chose the destination. And now that we’re so close by, I can smell her cherry fragrance wafting from the open window above.
Without thinking, without hesitating, I walk inside in wolf form, trot up the stairs, then morph back to human form at her door. The minute she opens it, looking half-asleep, I’m on her. Hands cupping her cheeks, kissing her, drowning myself in her.
She pulls back, frowning. “What happened to you? And why are you naked?”
“Nothing of importance.”
“Lucas—”
I push her back in the room, and Monica’s eyes darken to navy. She looks me up and down, licking her bottom lip.
“We laid out the terms earlier,” I say, remembering how we left the conversation. “You want to talk now, or bed?”
She gulps, and I smell her arousal as well as hear her heartbeat. “Bed.”
I move closer then, removing her sweater in one sweep and finding her naked underneath. A groan of pure, raw lust escapes me, and I grip her waist to toss her on the bed. Then I follow, stretching beside her.
I have enough sense left to ask, “How’s your leg?”
“Never better,” she whispers, then pulls me on top of her.
And once I’m inside her, I forget everything else. For a few moments, there is bliss. And then, there is darkness.
∞ ♦ ∞
“Luciano.... Luciano, wake up!” I blink in the darkness of my bedroom, then rub a hand over my face.
After Monica fell asleep, I slunk outside and tried to calm my thoughts. When that didn’t work, I walked back home and passed out.
It can’t have been more than a few hours since, and surely I’m still dreaming. In the window is a translucent shape with flowing red hair and features I would recognize anywhere. I stand up in bed, jaw going slack.
“Mamma?”
She floats closer to me. “My beautiful boy.”
“Ma che... What are you doing here?”
“Your father. You cannot go back to him.” She flickers in and out, like a bad connection. “...knows about the gift.”
“What gift?”
She comes even closer then, her expression full of pity. “I know you have tried to forget. But the chimera blood in you is not forgiving. Each battle fought, each soul taken has been a mark on you.” She gulps, wringing her hands. “The Underworld will call soon.”
I shake my head, recalling the vrykolakas’ words – lordul morţii. “Let it call, then. I’ve made my peace with it.”
“Luciano...” She flickers again. “...wants it for himself.”
“Who, Alessandro?” I snort. “If there is one thing he cannot take from me, it’s this.”
She shakes her head, as though knowing something I don’t. And then she disappears, vanishing into thin air. “Mamma, wait!”
It’s only once I get up from the bed, that I realize it wasn’t a dream. She had been there. When I walk through the spot she stood in, the chilliness of the air sticks to my skin, refusing to let go.
For a moment, I’m frozen, stuck in time. It was so sudden, so brief, seeing her again. After she died, I had dreams of her. For months on end, all I could see was her pale face, crying for me, for Matteo. Then even those stopped, and I pushed all those memories again. Buried. Forgotten. And now... Damn Monica for coming here, and bringing all this shit back to the forefront of my mind.
Part of me knows if
I talk to my pack, they can help. But I’m the one supposed to be leading them, not the other way around.
“Will you really be so stubborn?”
I whirl around to find yet another presence in my bedroom, this one not so welcome. “Ileana.” Her name is more of a growl on my lips than anything else. “What do you want? I’m in no mood.”
She looks past me to where my mother had stood, as though able to see something I don’t. “Interesting. And here I thought you were just another stubborn wolf.”
I really growl then, and move on her. “What do you want, Ileana? Don’t make me ask again.”
“You have denied love for so long. Isn’t it about time you let it in?”
I snort. “What, with Monica? She’s a good lay, that about sums it up.”
Ileana shakes her head. “I have always known you were stubborn, but I never took you for being dumb.”
I reach for her then, my hand going straight for her throat. Instead of going through like last time, I actually catch grip this time. Her eyes widen in tandem with mine, and I let go as if scorched. “What the fuck did you do to me now?”
Ileana is silent for a moment, a delicate hand going to her swanlike neck. Eyes narrowed, she circles me, not saying anything until she’s facing me once more. “What are you? I should have seen it earlier, but you are no regular wolf.”
I hesitate. I haven’t told anyone of my mixed heritage. “What do you see?”
“I see a link to the Underworld, filled with rage under the surface. A rage that, if you let it, will consume you and your wolf whole, leaving behind only your other side.”
Sighing, I run a hand over my face and reach for a shirt off the bed. Then I walk over to my destroyed living room. Over a shoulder, I add, “You coming? Or is it only in my bedroom you like to pay visits?”
Her presence follows me as I head to my whiskey decanter and pour myself a glass. Lifting it her way, I say, “I would offer you one, but...”
She arches an eyebrow my way. “Thank you. I take it neat.”
Not bothering to hide my surprise, I pour her a drink and watch as she sips it delicately. For the first time, perhaps because of Mamma’s apparition, I realize there is some truth to her words. I have been stubborn. Not least of all in cutting her off before I really heard her.
“I thought you were more similar to a ghost than, well, a human.”
Ileana scoffs. “I choose to present myself in this form, but I am able to touch and feel like most immortals. Only, none have ever been able to touch me, at least not without my permission.” She tilts her head to one side. “Will you tell me, then?”
I top off my drink, and halfway through it I finally admit, “I’m half-wolf, half-chimera. My mother was the last of her kind, and my father married her in order to procreate. She had two children, me and my younger brother Matteo. When he died, my gift was made known. And then Mamma died, so I left.”
Ileana watches me carefully. “And?”
“And, the chimera blood if pure can open the Underworld, and link with Charon, the ferryman of souls. Our curse, as we’re only part-chimera, is that with each soul taken, the link to the below is stronger, and eventually I won’t be able to fight it. I’ll be pulled under, become the monster of legend. Only, I’ll be a slave to the Underworld, versus being a decisive part of it.”
Ileana says nothing for the longest time. “And how far are you to that happening?”
“Too far,” I say. “I haven’t heard my wolf in ages, and after Lucrezia died...” I shrug, trailing off. There is no way to explain just how fucked I am.
The immortal takes another sip of her drink, mulling over my words. “You have to tell your pack. They need to be prepared, especially given you are being hunted by your father.”
“How did you –”
“You are not alone in being conflicted. Give Monica a real chance, and she can help you.”
“What does she have to do with it? Besides your matchmaking obsession, that is. We both know nothing can undo my dilemma.”
Ileana laughs. “One of these days, you’ll learn not to underestimate love.” Then she’s gone, leaving me to my thoughts and an empty glass.
Monica
I toss the phone onto the bed, annoyed. I’ve been trying to reach Lucas since waking up this morning alone, with no luck. It’s like the man vanished. Something happened last night, something that bothered him enough to come running to me and not his pack.
But what?
With a sigh, I realize there’s only one way I can find out – by talking to those closest to him. And out of all of them, there’s one girl in particular who’s more open to me. So I get dressed in black leggings, a short wool skirt, and another off-the-shoulders sweater. Zipping up my leather coat over it, I only grab my phone and head out.
Walking to the bakery, it sinks in for the first time how empty this town is. We’re in the middle of the week, but there’s no soul I can see. The old lady owning the inn mentioned most of the people are leaving – gas explosion. Claro. Because that would explain why only the backs of some buildings have fallen apart.
After a short walk, I reach the bakery and thankfully no one else is inside. Elle straightens up from behind the counter – which looks dejectedly empty. She smiles when she sees me. “Hey. Sorry, I didn’t bother making much today, ‘cause it’s not like anyone’s going to come around and buy, you know?”
“Not really.” I keep my tone soft. “What is going on here, Elle? Lucas seems...bothered.”
She bites her lip and looks away, then a heavy sigh escapes her. “I shouldn’t really be telling you.... Finn still doesn’t trust you.”
The door opens behind me and I steel myself for Lucas’ angry tone. Instead, Lucrezia says, “I see we’re right on time.”
I turn, surprised to find her all bundled up next to Blondie – Daniela. She nods at me, extending a hand while her amber eyes size me up. “I’m Daniela, but everyone calls me Dani.”
When I shake her hand, a zing of electricity travels up my arm. Something about these women...
Lucrezia goes past me and helps Elle carry some croissants to a table, along with soft drinks. Then she sits and gestures to the seat opposite her. This practically puts me in a corner, surrounded by the other three.
“Are you Luna or something?” I mutter as I follow her unspoken order. In some packs, an alpha’s female garners as much respect and weight as he does, especially among its female members. Given how Lucrezia has been acting, it’s not such a jump to assume.
She laughs. “Only to Dom. But no, I’ve just been around these guys since before Dani and Elle got involved with them. One can say I’m a little.... Protective. And you’ve definitely caught Lucas’ eye.”
I tear apart the croissant, and busy myself with stuffing my mouth rather than answering.
“Did you see him last night?” Dani asks. Her concerned tone bothers me, and the pastry tastes bitter going down.
“Maybe.”
They share a look, and I take it as my cue to ask questions. “What happened? He wouldn’t talk about it.”
Lucrezia snorts. “It’s Lucas. He doesn’t talk, period. He scowls and grunts and yells and acts all tough. But...” Her voice changes. “I think he’s hurting. And I think you being here is making it worse.” I open my mouth to say something, but she adds, “And better, in some ways.”
That stops my raging venting. “How do you mean?”
“Just trust me on that,” she says with a twinkle in her eyes. “Now, as for what happened last night... Well, it’s a longer story that we’re choosing to trust you with. It started with me and Dominic...”
As Lucrezia starts talking, Dani and Elle fill in the gaps when it comes to their own stories. And slowly, little by little, a picture emerges of a type of pack I’ve never known. Wolves and humans that are so tied to each other, they would give their lives to save one another. Women who stand by their men just as strongly, just as fiercely protective as they ar
e. And men that respect them, even if they’re overbearing in their own way.
It makes the bleakness of my own life pale in comparison. It makes my heart ache for something just as real, just as impossibly unattainable.
Needless to say, when Lucrezia reveals their powers and everything they have accomplished, I’m even more stunned. “So you... You used to be a human, but now you’re a dragon-rider of sort that wields magic from the skies?” She shrugs. I look at Elle. “And you’re the last female descendent of the Romanian dragons, called zmei, and you wield their magic.” She nods, and I turn to Dani, gulping. “And you’re a wolf shifter who can wield magic?”
“Yep,” she says with a grin. “Among other things.”
I shake my head, munching on the last of the croissant to get my bearings. Is Lucas doing this on purpose, having all these people with insane powers under him? Is this his way of getting back at Alessandro, of biding his way to a war?
“You also have something,” Dani says. “I felt it when we touched earlier.”
I gulp and look up. “Umm, yeah. My nonna – grandmother – was a human who practiced stregheria. It’s an old type of magic, based in herbs and rituals and whatnot.”
“I thought wolves couldn’t hold magic?” Elle asks, glancing at Dani for confirmation.
She shrugs. “If my lobisomem pack was able to, there is no reason others couldn’t, I suppose.”
“There may be more to it than that,” I whisper. “Alessandro – Lucas’ father – he has a certain type of wolf under his command. Most of us are lupi mannari like himself, basically we’re descended from the original Italian lupo mannaro.”
“Like Remus and Romulus?” Lucrezia asks.
I nod. “Pretty much. So he, um, cultivates a certain kind of talent, which is why he insisted my nonna teach the girl wolves who showed promise.”
“And you did?” Dani asks.
“Yeah, me and Ana.” Thoughts of my blonde cousin swim in my head, but I push them away. She’s not the same now, not by a long shot. “My cousin,” I add to them. “We don’t get along that much anymore.”
When the silence lengthens to the point of becoming awkward, I break it again. “Why was Lucas so upset last night?”
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